The poor-quality image showed the head of man resembling Chavez apparently on a hospital bed and with tubes in his mouth. The newspaper said it could not independently confirm how, when or where the photograph had been taken.

El Pais said it withdrew the edition and changed its website after it discovered the photograph was not of Chavez. Many copies had already been distributed, however.

El Pais said it had received the picture from an agency.

Chavez has not been seen in public since undergoing cancer surgery Dec. 11 in Cuba.